Australia's victory in Canberra on Wednesday has turned this fourth match in Sydney and the fifth game in Melbourne on Sunday into dead rubbers. The best West Indies can hope for is a couple of consolation victories to transform the scoreline into a more respectable looking 3-2. Australia want to keep up their momentum and complete a 5-0 clean-sweep, especially if that means runs and wickets for the squad members who are due to fly to India shortly for a four-Test series. Both teams left Canberra with injury concerns, West Indies sweating on the fitness of Chris Gayle, who picked up a side injury while fielding in the third ODI, and Australia unsure about George Bailey, who hurt his hamstring during Australia's win. The fact that the series is decided means neither side is likely to be inclined to take a risk, which should mean at least one change for each team.

Form guide

(Most recent first)Australia WWWLWWest Indies LLLWW

In the spotlight

Rarely has the term "in the spotlight" been used to describe Clint McKay. One of the lowest-profile members of Australia's squad, McKay was nonetheless the centre of attention for a short while on Monday night, when he was named Australia's One-Day International Cricketer of the Year at the Allan Border Medal ceremony in Melbourne. It was a well-deserved honour for a man who nearly always does his job, taking wickets and keeping the opposition batsmen in check with consistent bowling and subtle changes of pace. Since the start of 2012, only Lasith Malinga has
taken more ODI wickets than McKay's 40 at an average of 23.00. No wonder he is the first picked member of Australia's one-day attack.

In Canberra, Kieron Pollard reminded everyone watching of just what an exciting player he can be when he took four catches, including a couple of stunners, especially his leaping, one-handed take on the boundary that got rid of Glenn Maxwell. Unfortunately for West Indies, he hasn't made the same kind of contributions with the batting during this series, with scores of 0, 1 and 9. West Indies need more from many players at the moment, none more so than Pollard.

Team news

Adam Voges has been added to Australia's squad as cover for Bailey and is likely to play his first one-day international in two years. Voges has impressive Ryobi Cup form behind him: in his past two innings he has made 77 not out and 112 for Western Australia. Xavier Doherty is also likely to be included at the SCG, possibly at the expense of Mitchell Johnson.

Gayle had scans on Thursday to assess his side injury and a West Indies team spokesman said the results showed there was no major damage. However, Gayle remained stiff and sore and his availability will depend on a fitness test on the day of the game. If he sits out it could mean a call-up for Johnson Charles, while Narsingh Deonarine is also in the squad and might be considered as a replacement for the out-of-form Ramnaresh Sarwan.

The SCG should bring spin into the equation, although it was mainly swing that caused Australia's batsmen problems at the venue in their ODI against Sri Lanka last month. The forecast for Friday in Sydney is for a sunny day and a maximum temperature of 27C.

Stats and trivia

It is 20 years since West Indies have beaten Australia in a one-day international at the SCG

Of all Australian batsmen who have opened in at least 10 ODIs, Shane Watson has the highest average: 46.56. Matthew Hayden sits in second place on 44.30

Quotes

"It's been a tough old summer for us. In terms of our one-day cricket we've been a little bit topsy-turvy and we've got some good momentum now so certainly we're not going to take the foot off the pedal."
Mickey Arthur

Brydon Coverdale is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. He tweets here

We Australians have gone on and on about the rotation policy all summer. The selectors have gone out of their way to defend it. Now, with the series over bar the shouting, and with a perfect opportunity to rotate players, the selectors decide to stay with pretty much the same bowlers they have had all summer. Apparently its ok to rotate in form bowlers out of a test match, but not ok to give them a rest for a dead rubber ODI.

Dummy4
on February 8, 2013, 0:16 GMT

I sincerely hope that all those Sarwan sympathizers will just shut up!!! Let us not dwell on the past.I recall so many persons using this forum assuring us all that once we brought back Gayle and Sarwan among others we would be the number one team once again. There remains one player Germaine Lawson who is yet to be brought back and I urge the selectors to bring him back to grant all the critics their wish even if to prove the point that these guys are a damn waste of time.

Dummy4
on February 7, 2013, 23:58 GMT

WI should rest Sammy and allow Bravo to captain the 2 ODI's. Maybe a new voice, new thinking, a new style will shake things up a little bit. Besides, Barvo needs the exposure, to see what kind of captain he is, just in case something happens to Sammy. Sammy looks tired to me, both physically and mentally. He along with MS Dhoni are the only 2 captains to lead in all formats. Maybe a rest will do him some good. In the 2nd ODI when WI had Oz on the run at 6 for 86, Sammy struggled to come up with ideas to finish off OZ. He did nothing remotely creative to get a wicket as Aus kept building their innings. Nothing. His inability to summon any inspiration in that situation, was clearly an indication of a man who was "fried' mentally. To make matters worse, his manner of dismal (slugging when WI RRR was only 5 per over) was inexcusable, especially when Pollard just got out slugging for sixes!!.Certainly not what you would expect from the CAPTAIN!! But this is WI, Sammy plays on and on !!

Dummy4
on February 7, 2013, 23:04 GMT

I need sammy to rest a game. he plays all format with no time off. lets try bravo, a different mind set.

@jonesy2: "Hauritz, Bollinger, white and Beer.... world quality". Just ask Alistair Cook if he agrees with you that they're 'world quality'. I'm not sure he'd agree with you. Any guesses why?

j
on February 7, 2013, 21:32 GMT

@jonesy2: "mckay stays in the side of course":
How's Mckay getting on as the 'next Mcgrath' as you so elegantly stated a year ago? And what about Wade as the 'next Gilchrist'? The 'Wade' saga must have been a real drag mate.

nick
on February 7, 2013, 21:03 GMT

when wi get rampaul back and samuels, they will be a lot better. A lot more swing bowling in the start of the innings and better middle batting, than what sarwan is providing

Dale
on February 7, 2013, 20:51 GMT

@nafzak Not true at all. Rugby union and Rugby league play their series through and i'm sure there are more sports that do it.
Fans don't care too much about series' in cricket anyways international cricket games are rare opportunities to see your country represented live. In Brisbane i think we've had 3 International games this year. I would hate to have one of those 3 cancelled just because it's a "dead rubber". Every game is worth playing for and watching.

Chris
on February 7, 2013, 20:10 GMT

i was glad the west indies finally did what they should have done years ago: drop gayle down the order, even if it took an injury to do it. hopefully, when he's healed, they won't make the mistake of moving him back into an opener's spot. also, except for injuries, why don't the west indies play 4 seamers anymore? when not injured they can choose from best, sammy, rampaul, holder, roach, and a bunch of others.

Simon
on February 8, 2013, 0:51 GMT

We Australians have gone on and on about the rotation policy all summer. The selectors have gone out of their way to defend it. Now, with the series over bar the shouting, and with a perfect opportunity to rotate players, the selectors decide to stay with pretty much the same bowlers they have had all summer. Apparently its ok to rotate in form bowlers out of a test match, but not ok to give them a rest for a dead rubber ODI.

Dummy4
on February 8, 2013, 0:16 GMT

I sincerely hope that all those Sarwan sympathizers will just shut up!!! Let us not dwell on the past.I recall so many persons using this forum assuring us all that once we brought back Gayle and Sarwan among others we would be the number one team once again. There remains one player Germaine Lawson who is yet to be brought back and I urge the selectors to bring him back to grant all the critics their wish even if to prove the point that these guys are a damn waste of time.

Dummy4
on February 7, 2013, 23:58 GMT

WI should rest Sammy and allow Bravo to captain the 2 ODI's. Maybe a new voice, new thinking, a new style will shake things up a little bit. Besides, Barvo needs the exposure, to see what kind of captain he is, just in case something happens to Sammy. Sammy looks tired to me, both physically and mentally. He along with MS Dhoni are the only 2 captains to lead in all formats. Maybe a rest will do him some good. In the 2nd ODI when WI had Oz on the run at 6 for 86, Sammy struggled to come up with ideas to finish off OZ. He did nothing remotely creative to get a wicket as Aus kept building their innings. Nothing. His inability to summon any inspiration in that situation, was clearly an indication of a man who was "fried' mentally. To make matters worse, his manner of dismal (slugging when WI RRR was only 5 per over) was inexcusable, especially when Pollard just got out slugging for sixes!!.Certainly not what you would expect from the CAPTAIN!! But this is WI, Sammy plays on and on !!

Dummy4
on February 7, 2013, 23:04 GMT

I need sammy to rest a game. he plays all format with no time off. lets try bravo, a different mind set.

@jonesy2: "Hauritz, Bollinger, white and Beer.... world quality". Just ask Alistair Cook if he agrees with you that they're 'world quality'. I'm not sure he'd agree with you. Any guesses why?

j
on February 7, 2013, 21:32 GMT

@jonesy2: "mckay stays in the side of course":
How's Mckay getting on as the 'next Mcgrath' as you so elegantly stated a year ago? And what about Wade as the 'next Gilchrist'? The 'Wade' saga must have been a real drag mate.

nick
on February 7, 2013, 21:03 GMT

when wi get rampaul back and samuels, they will be a lot better. A lot more swing bowling in the start of the innings and better middle batting, than what sarwan is providing

Dale
on February 7, 2013, 20:51 GMT

@nafzak Not true at all. Rugby union and Rugby league play their series through and i'm sure there are more sports that do it.
Fans don't care too much about series' in cricket anyways international cricket games are rare opportunities to see your country represented live. In Brisbane i think we've had 3 International games this year. I would hate to have one of those 3 cancelled just because it's a "dead rubber". Every game is worth playing for and watching.

Chris
on February 7, 2013, 20:10 GMT

i was glad the west indies finally did what they should have done years ago: drop gayle down the order, even if it took an injury to do it. hopefully, when he's healed, they won't make the mistake of moving him back into an opener's spot. also, except for injuries, why don't the west indies play 4 seamers anymore? when not injured they can choose from best, sammy, rampaul, holder, roach, and a bunch of others.

Mohamed
on February 7, 2013, 17:17 GMT

It's a dead rubber, so why play at all. Cricket is the only sport that still plays on when the series is already decided. If Aussies don't play as hard or rest their top players and Powell or Sammy goes out and scores a century, does this not give a false impression of improvement by WI? These dead rubbers should not count. Now, like I said before, playing T/20 before ODi series is just poor management by WICB. Gayle has been failing since his comback against B/desh and Sarwan has unfortunately lost his mojo. We all know that this was do or die for Sars as Cozier said in an article a few weeks ago. Both are favourites of mine and as much as it hurts, they must be allowed to go with some dignity. Too bad the WICB did not see fit to bring these men back over a year ago. I am also afraid that it may also be too late now to bring back Chanders into the ODI team. What a shame. WICB should stor rewarding failures like Sammy, Pollard and Gibson. Nuff said.

Dummy4
on February 7, 2013, 16:32 GMT

The West Indies are only playing for pride now, if you look back at their record in ODIs or Tests Down Under, it's not a pretty sight. The last time they had any real success in Oz was probably under Richie Richardson some twenty years ago. With this current team, they need at least three fulltime bowlers, instead of two (Roach and Narine) combined with part time allrounders. They might get away with that in T20s, with the bowlers only bowling 4 overs each, in ODIs that will get exposed on good batting pitches. Also the batting has failed with the experience of Gayle and Sarwan, as well as x-factor Pollard struggling for form. The rest of the batting line-up has to support Powell and the Bravos, if they're serious about giving Australia a competitive match for the remainder of this series.

charlie
on February 7, 2013, 16:17 GMT

WI gave up too many easy wickets when their were set to bat Australia out of the game . They have to play more of a thinking game to beat any team going forward . I worry about some of the batting of players like Sammy and Narine ! It's time that Sammy addresses his approach to batting ,or he will soon get seriously hurt by playing such silly shots ; as for Narine it seems like he is lacking in confidence against the pace and when that happens they will target him evry time . Watch some of good batsmen around and try to learn from them ,that may work for you guys .

Dylan
on February 7, 2013, 16:00 GMT

Hopefully Gayle plays, it will be better for Australia.

Bryn
on February 7, 2013, 14:18 GMT

Shaggy076-- oh yeah mckay stays in the side of course but bailey is out with his hammy anyway.

Peter
on February 7, 2013, 13:25 GMT

The sooner the Indian tourists leave the better, let them get some quality practice in for their arduous tour. I feel for Chris Gayle, he is going through a huge form slump, he didn't produce anything in the BBL & he looks totally out of it to date. A devastating player on is day, but this slump has gone on for 3 months.

jaswant
on February 7, 2013, 12:54 GMT

I must say that Australia is a far more superior force than the WI.The management and coach of the WI have not in my opinion supported their team with the best of interest.Their course of time has shown much clash and differences which has injured the mind set of players.They to my mind have deliberately side lined their greatest batting talent Shivnarine Chanderpaul. From the Bangladesh tour to the present series,we can see the instability in our batting.Why ignore a player of Chanderpaul's caliber?

Lewis
on February 7, 2013, 11:51 GMT

@jonesy i would have like to see Khawaja here as well but i think the priority should be the tests and i would have also send Hughes and Watson early as well as we have sufficeint backups for them. I think they go on Saturday but they won't play the first warm up game which is a shame.

Satish Chandar
on February 7, 2013, 11:38 GMT

WI is a power house. But still, they need a drafter to play ith the power house players. Pollard and Sammy can't play together. Both can play decent with a top order bat. There lies the difference. Leaving out Sarwan to play both Pollard and Russel together was a mistake. I predicted picking Sarwan itself was a mistake as he is not of the same league of the current team. I dont remember last big innings from Ronnie anymore. Deo might have done better than Ronnie in the team. Powell is a great positive for WI. Aussies knowing the power hitters in WI loaded team with pace batteries and no spinner to attack. Maxwell was used very well by Clarke to run through overs and when there was urge to go big. It might have backfired too had he gone for 20+ like Narine hit him last game. Yet, tactically well used by Clarke.

Dummy4
on February 7, 2013, 11:13 GMT

definitely darren sammy nw doesnt qualify as player in the squad.his batting average 21 nd andre russel's is 31 nd narine average is 11,so as roach.probaly if narine nd roach are promoted then they might hv higher avg than the skipper.nd about his bowling,andre rusel is still hv more wicket than the skipper.windies nd to bring some imidiate changes in their squad,looks that gayle isnt suitable to batt outside carribean area.as far as talking about johnson charles,this guy doesnt knw to play shot except swinging his batt.if u swing ur batt,then randomly,some of those may go for the boundary.the batting order should be for the nxt match is-powell,johnson (if gayle not available),DM bravo,DJ bravo,Russel,sarwan/deonarine,pollard,sammy,thomas,narine,roach.deonarine nd saarwan both may be played to strengthen the batting by as thomas may be out of the squad so either johnson or DM bravo may go for keeping.

Basil
on February 7, 2013, 11:05 GMT

Sarwan is mentally week. He is no longer up for international cricket. His fall-out with the coach was school boy stuff. He can't take criticism to improve and that is why he stagnated for years before falling into free fall. Bye bye.

Graham
on February 7, 2013, 11:02 GMT

Jonesy2 - Any reason for leaving out Bailey and Mckay as they arent going to India either. There is also Hilfenhaus, Pomersbach and M Hussey not mentioned.

Dummy4
on February 7, 2013, 10:48 GMT

Let Darren Bravo rest So could Sammy and let Dwayne Bravo captain this one. Bring in Deonarine, Charles and Holder. Let Gayle rest until he is fit and he is also out of touch like Sarwan. Sarwan needs all the exposure to get back to form.
I recalled Lloyd was out of form and the only way he could have make the side was to play as a medium fast bowler and he found form. So was Fredericks. Everyone has a bad patch. Sammy can come back in on the fifth ODI. Nothing to lose now.
At least by the end of this series WI can review Sarwan performance and make a decision on his selection in the future. Deonarine toured England and did not get an opportunity. He was sent home after that tour. Now is the time to bring him in.

Patrick
on February 7, 2013, 10:21 GMT

jonesy2, they flew out so as to have more time to become accustomed to conditions, and as they were unlikely to be needed for the rest of the ODI series. It was a risk-benefit for the selectors as to which players should stay and which should leave (risk being players like Khawaja may be needed, benefit being time in India) and they handled it pretty much perfectly. A team of 2nd XI as you mentioned is ridiculous and would never happen, for obvious reasons.

Cauldric
on February 7, 2013, 9:35 GMT

The likes of mitch and rajesh have always called for sarwan and gayle unconditional inclusion. Gayle i kinda understand however. These have been playing since the days of brian lara and its only when they took (were given) a short leave that wi cricket gave the fans anything to cheer about. Incidentally thats exactly when gibson and sammy were at the helm. Sarwan and gayle are good players, but like anyone else, they should have to justify their positions in the team. EVEN SAMMY IS DOING BETTER THAN THEM LATELY.

Dummy4
on February 7, 2013, 9:31 GMT

i second that xi SIRSOBERZ, Deonarine deserves a game and they need another genuine paceman so i would bring in Holder or Best.

Bryn
on February 7, 2013, 9:09 GMT

but whats the deal with players flying to india? shouldnt all selected in the test squad be flying to india? like why has usman gone but hughes is still here? have pattinson and siddle already flown out? why them and not starc and MJ? why lyon and not doherty? they should all fly out early to get ready there is enough depth and world class quality to make a team up of non test selected players: finch, marsh, voges, ferguson, hussey, haddin, faulkner, o'keefe, coulter-nile, cutting, bollinger. and thats just one combination i didnt even mention hazlewood, richardson, burns, quiney, white, beer, chrisian, boyce, paine, hauritz etc

I have to say Powell and Thomas opening last game was great even with Thomas in visible agony form his thumb they batted well rotated the strike with 1's and quick 2's something that doesn't happen when Gayle opens as he never runs hard or the other opener seems to worried about running him out on a quick single. Charles is also a keeper so if he plays it's unlikely Thomas will to as a bowler could be added like Best, if Thomas injury is ok his performance warrants him another shot at opening as Dwayne Smith isn't selected and no1 else really has any reason to therefore Best can be added instead of Charles.

Dummy4
on February 7, 2013, 7:20 GMT

Please someone take Mr.Gibson you love him so much we WI want to see the back of him and Sammy.

Dummy4
on February 7, 2013, 7:18 GMT

Sarwan should be given few more chances to see what he can do...as SCG pitch is not favorable for quicks he could come handy with spin bowling also.

Dhaval
on February 7, 2013, 6:54 GMT

Is it sure that bailey,gayle and sarwan won't play....please any one with confirm playing eleven help me out....

Basil
on February 7, 2013, 6:16 GMT

I really hope WI don't line up as suggested. They were a bowler short in Canberra, so Holder should come in for the injured Gayle and Deonarine for Sarwan as his spin will be handy at the SCG. Windies, don't make the same mistake twice.

Mariam
on February 7, 2013, 5:57 GMT

Given Khawaja has flown away to India today with the first batch of players i would say Vogues is the next best batsman and deserves his opportunity, he has been very good for us in shield and Ryobi this year.

Dummy4
on February 7, 2013, 5:49 GMT

West Indies is losing because Gayle is notin his best form. But I still believe Gayle should be given chance for remaining 2 matches coz he is a champion player and will get his form back soon.

John
on February 7, 2013, 5:43 GMT

The Windies haven't looked anywhere near on their game in this series either with bat or ball. That's partly due to injury (no Samuels or Best), partly due to selection policy (Sarwan has done nothing and going into an ODI with only two front-line bowlers is crazy) but mostly due to the Australians outplaying them.

Hopefully they can put in a couple of better performances in the last two games- or at least, maybe Australia won't play quite as well!

Brian
on February 7, 2013, 5:42 GMT

Bet WI will win this one now that the series is lost. lol. And Gayle won't play again until the T20 game. He has to keep himself sharp for the more important IPL, you know :)

Dummy4
on February 7, 2013, 5:36 GMT

WI should definitely bench Sarwan for Deonarine...would have liked to see that change for game #3 but heh...guess WICB had to make sure Sarwan got the message. Hopefully after this we will not hear ppl asking for him in the team. Hopefully Sammy will let Deonarine bowl a few overs too....Johnson Charles has another chance to claim a spot as a future WI limited overs opener.

Balaji
on February 7, 2013, 5:34 GMT

Westindies is full of cricket legends but there is no one to step up as coach except this poor gibson .sad.

No featured comments at the moment.

Balaji
on February 7, 2013, 5:34 GMT

Westindies is full of cricket legends but there is no one to step up as coach except this poor gibson .sad.

Dummy4
on February 7, 2013, 5:36 GMT

WI should definitely bench Sarwan for Deonarine...would have liked to see that change for game #3 but heh...guess WICB had to make sure Sarwan got the message. Hopefully after this we will not hear ppl asking for him in the team. Hopefully Sammy will let Deonarine bowl a few overs too....Johnson Charles has another chance to claim a spot as a future WI limited overs opener.

Brian
on February 7, 2013, 5:42 GMT

Bet WI will win this one now that the series is lost. lol. And Gayle won't play again until the T20 game. He has to keep himself sharp for the more important IPL, you know :)

John
on February 7, 2013, 5:43 GMT

The Windies haven't looked anywhere near on their game in this series either with bat or ball. That's partly due to injury (no Samuels or Best), partly due to selection policy (Sarwan has done nothing and going into an ODI with only two front-line bowlers is crazy) but mostly due to the Australians outplaying them.

Hopefully they can put in a couple of better performances in the last two games- or at least, maybe Australia won't play quite as well!

Dummy4
on February 7, 2013, 5:49 GMT

West Indies is losing because Gayle is notin his best form. But I still believe Gayle should be given chance for remaining 2 matches coz he is a champion player and will get his form back soon.

Mariam
on February 7, 2013, 5:57 GMT

Given Khawaja has flown away to India today with the first batch of players i would say Vogues is the next best batsman and deserves his opportunity, he has been very good for us in shield and Ryobi this year.

Basil
on February 7, 2013, 6:16 GMT

I really hope WI don't line up as suggested. They were a bowler short in Canberra, so Holder should come in for the injured Gayle and Deonarine for Sarwan as his spin will be handy at the SCG. Windies, don't make the same mistake twice.

Dhaval
on February 7, 2013, 6:54 GMT

Is it sure that bailey,gayle and sarwan won't play....please any one with confirm playing eleven help me out....

Dummy4
on February 7, 2013, 7:18 GMT

Sarwan should be given few more chances to see what he can do...as SCG pitch is not favorable for quicks he could come handy with spin bowling also.

Dummy4
on February 7, 2013, 7:20 GMT

Please someone take Mr.Gibson you love him so much we WI want to see the back of him and Sammy.

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